On ‘The Colbert Report‘ Monday night, the host sharply criticized the organization — which he called “the Godfather of the Tea Party movement” — for its push to have young people fight back against forced universal healthcare.

“That’s right, younglings,” Colbert said. “Protest this government overreach by lighting your insurance card on fire. But be careful, because if you burn yourself, you don’t have health insurance.”

The host then pointed out that Obamacare cards don’t actually exist, revealing that he doesn’t quite understand the concept of a metaphor. He accused the organization of “fighting symbols of injustice that don’t exist.”

“But FreedomWorks isn’t letting a little thing like ‘not existing’ get in their way,” Colbert said, explaining that the organization would provide fake Obamacare cards for people to print.

Admittedly, Colbert’s jokes are funny. But he completely misses the point of the FreedomWorks push.

Card or no card, the concept of Obamacare is the modern-day military draft for young people. They have almost no choice but to follow the government’s individual healthcare mandate. Unless, of course, they want to pay a fee — one that countless young people can’t afford, for reasons like underemployment in a struggling economy.

But the host didn’t stop there, then suggesting that those who didn’t like this ‘draft’ could move to Canada, much like what anti-draft protesters did in the 60s.

“Bonus, I hear they have a great healthcare system up there that doesn’t cost that much,” he closed.

Colbert’s job is make jokes, but the healthcare draft isn’t funny for the million of young Americans who will have to support the flawed Obamacare system.

Comments

This statement is simply stunning: "Card or no card, the concept of Obamacare is the modern-day military draft for young people." It is an insult to both those Americans who fought in Vietnam and those Americans that resisted the draft. It is devoid of any sense of proportion or historical perspective, and it represents a heartbreaking trivialization of the horrors war.

Wasn't the whole mandatory joining or pay a fee thing the result of the conservatives in the first place? Also I've still never seen any information on what precisely I'm supposed to do about that without a job as a full time student, doesn't that start in the next year?

I think he gets the idea, Kelsey. He just finds it absurd. Especially since an Obamacare card (if such a thing existed) would entitle a person to health care (something that many people, especially people who get sick, find extremely important), while draft cards required people to go to Indochina to die in some corner of a jungle in a completely pointless war.
This is not this generation's Vietnam War, Kelsey. Paying for your health insurance is hardly the same as being sent to kill East Asians. And pretending they're the same is absurd and/or really stupid. Colbert gets that. That's why he was joking about it.

Ms. Osterman, does Red Alert provide you with health insurance as part of your compensation? Or are you buying on the private market? Or are you going uninsured? If you do currently have health insurance, have you ever had to go without it?